Festival motto Tollwood Winter Festival 2024

We need You!

The freedom of the individual ends where the freedom of others begins, as the philosophers Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill once said. What would our personal freedom be without the responsibility for the freedom of others? In times when extreme currents are becoming louder, it is more important than ever to have the courage to stand up for what we have in common. In short: “We need You!” – is also the motto of the Tollwood Winter Festival.

Only cohesion makes our community strong enough to defend our democracy, to stand up for justice, freedom and the inviolability of human dignity. The festival thus becomes a reflection of what our society can be when the focus is on us.

“We need You!” can also be read backwards: ‘You need the We’. Only in the community are we strong enough to put a stop to anti-democratic tendencies. To use the freedom of the individual to stand up for the freedom of others, for the freedom of all. Yes, that is also what Tollwood is for.

But “We need you!” also applies on a completely different level: to the adventure in the circus ring. For it is only in the community of the company that the art of artistry can truly blossom. Three excellent companies from three continents make the magic of this We come true in the Grand Chapiteau. The artists do not fly through the air alone – they rely on the hands that catch them. The dancers do not move in isolation – they react to the steps of others. It is the we that makes them strong, and this we also invites us to be part of a shared journey.

A journey that takes place throughout the festival site. Light installations on the tent roofs let the message in defense of our democracy shine far beyond the festival grounds. And what better way to end the year than with a celebration of the We? The New Year’s Eve party, this year in collaboration with Club Harry Klein, is the highlight of this community.